


brûlée

by orphan_account



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Reader-Insert, it's a good time, reader has bad dream starts to panic and then starts to burn like an elsen, the batter chapter is all angst and no fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was all just a bad dream, but then you exhaled and found your nightmare was still in progress.</p><p>(this is my first fic and it's a reader insert I'm sorry)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ohno

Everything is hazy.  
Your hand is gripped tightly on the handle of a cold, metal bat. _What? The Batter’s…?_ You look down. It's your body, and your clothing. Tilting your chin up, you realize you must be purifying something. The opponent is... _nonononononoNO_  
Zacharie. His eyes are wide and focused solely on you. Though his surgical mask covers over half of his face, you still recognize a mixture of fear, confusion, and betrayal in his eyes... And you swing with full force. You have no control but your mind is racing. The bat strikes Zacharie over and over again, bloodying and bruising him. You want to scream, to stop more than anything, at least to tell him to run, but you can't. The bat comes down over and over and over and over and over and overandoverandoverand then you wake up.

  
You jolt awake and upright, your throat stuck and unable to scream. Hyperventilation and sobs mix together as you bring your knees to your chest, shuddering and shaking uncontrollably. You think of calling over Batter or Zacharie, but disregard it. Neither of them would be happy to hear about this...You continue to puzzle the matter but begin to feel a slightly aching heat in your chest. You cough through your shallow breaths, and with rising fear, teary eyes, and the scent of something like burnt caramel, a trickle of smoke floats out with the exhale... You hold your breath and start to panic.

_Humans can't burn, right? What if I'm burning? I'm burning. I'm burning. Am I going to die? Is it going to hurt? Is it permanent? Am I going to become a specter? Is my head going to explode? Is Batter going to purify me? Am I going to die? Is it going to hurt?_

Suddenly, your endless worries are cut off by a particularly violent coughing fit. When you open your eyes, to your horror, the trickle has become billowing black smoke pouring in a column from your mouth and nose, stinging painfully. You try to call out for help, but the smoke chokes your words out. With a shaking hand and a headache blooming in your skull, you reach for your phone and call…


	2. friend

Zacharie.

He picked up on the second ring. Hearing the static on the other end, he was sure it was by accident… Until he heard the sobbing, the coughs, and the choked out word “help”.

“___? ___, are you there? I don't know what's going on, but I'm coming over right now. Just sit tight, okay?”

Zacharie left the house immediately. Within about a minute, you can hear the door opening with the help of the spare key you had given him. Zacharie’s hurried footsteps resound through the hall all the way to your door. “___,  I'm coming in…” The look on his face is hard to describe. All that you can place about it in your current state is how strikingly similar it is to the expression he wore in the dream... You cough. “Oh no.” He rushes towards you, dropping to his knees and reaching into his backpack, pulling out a… cloth?  Zacharie gently presses the cloth to your nose and mouth. “Breathe. This will help.” You try your best to breathe, and miraculously are almost able to, the cloth acting as a kind of filter. With the headache dying down, you take several deep breaths and try to remember calming techniques. _Inhale for four, hold for seven, exhale for eight..._ Zacharie observes with half closed eyes and a creased brow as your tears fall to hit his fingers. "Hush. It's okay, you'll be okay, ma cherí. I promise." Just being with him is calming you down immensely, a feeling of grounding and safety washing over you. Within about three minutes, you and your lungs feel normal again. He tentatively removes the cloth, which has now been stained a dusty black. “...Are you alright now? Would it be okay to tell me what was wrong?” You look down.

“A nightmare,” you admit softly. “A bad one.” He nods, moving from his kneeling position to sit beside you. “It's okay if it's personal and you don't want to tell me, but… Don't let it ball up inside you. Get it out somehow, you know?” You nod, then look up at him. “How was I... burning?”

“It seems anyone who breathes smoke every day can burn.” He leans his head back. “I don't know the specifics biologically, so I can't help you there, but it's just like the Elsens: triggered and worsened by panic.”

You pull your knees closer to yourself. “Can humans become hostile burnts?”

Zacharie closes his eyes. “I don't know, actually. I've never seen a human even get close to that level.”

You pause for a moment.

“Have you ever burned, Zach?”

He nods, with a heartbeat's hesitation.

“Several times, yes. Here, I'll tell you my secret, ___. This mask is lined with the same material as that cloth.” You nod, wondering if that's just for convenience, or that's entirely why he wears it... “Thankfully, it hasn't happened for a while.” Zacharie reaches into his black backpack again, pulling out three pieces of the aforementioned fabric. “Here, I think it would be safest if you kept these on your person, ma cherí.” You accept them gratefully.

“Thank you so much…”

He stands up and leans down to softly kiss you on the forehead. “It's not a problem at all. Now, get some rest. Oh, and… Don't tell Batter. I don't know how he'd react. Call me anytime, alright? Adiós!” And with that, he exits.

Slowly getting back into bed, you think over everything, not with fear, but reassurance that you have a friend to fall back on. Everything will be alright…

You slept very well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first fic ever, so please leave some suggestions and criticisms in the comments because I want to improve! I also was wondering if I should also write a chapter where reader calls the Batter instead, but only if people want it, so please comment if you want a Batter chapter. Thanks!


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